The Truth Isn't Always Golden
by Toni G Burn
Summary: Will Octoroo come up with some evil plan? Or will Antonio tell the truth first? On Haitus.
1. Intro

Antonio, Jayden, Mike, Kevin, Mia, and Emily formed the Claw Armor Megazord. They finished the Nighlok off, and Jayden said, "Samurai Rangers, victory is ours."

Usually after battles, they would de-morph and go back to the Shiba house, but today the Megazord was having difficulties. They couldn't de-morph. Antonio went to work to try to fix it. Antonio accidentally bumped up against a button that he didn't know was there, and ejected all the Rangers, including him. The six Rangers landed in the ocean; they had fought the Nighlok next to it.

Mia came up first and starting treading water to get back to shore. Mike and Emily came up and swam after Mia. A few seconds passed and Jayden and Kevin came up, spitting salt water out of their mouths. Jayden looked around and saw Mia, Mike, and Emily already on the shore. Kevin was right beside him. _Where is Antonio? _He thought desperately.

"Where's Antonio?" he yelled to Kevin. Kevin looked around before replying, "He hasn't come up yet. I'll look for him. Go see if the others are alright." Jayden swam towards the shore, confident that Kevin would find Antonio; but a nagging voice intercepted into his thoughts.

_He didn't come up. It's hopeless._

_"No," _Jayden thought back. _"Antonio's fine. Kevin will find him and then we'll have a good laugh about it."_

Kevin didn't waste any time. He took a deep breath and dived under. He spotted Antonio sinking deeper and deeper into the water. He swam down and grabbed hold of Antonio. He swam upward and soon he was at the surface. He started swimming towards the shore, keeping Antonio's head above the water. Kevin finally reached the shore after swimming for what seemed like an eternity. He dragged Antonio's limp body to where the others were standing.

After seeing that Antonio wasn't playing a joke or something, Kevin got down on his knees and checked to see if Antonio was breathing. He wasn't. Kevin frantically checked for a pulse. His fingers rested firmly on the vein in Antonio's neck. For a moment, Kevin didn't feel anything. He feared the worse. But then he felt something. A weak, thready pulse was there.

Kevin checked again to see if Antonio was breathing yet. He still wasn't. Kevin immediately started CPR. He pinched Antonio's nose between his fingers and breathed into his mouth. He removed his fingers and pressed Antonio's chest up and down. He repeated this several more times, while the other Rangers looked on in horror.

Kevin stopped for a moment. They all stared at Antonio, willing him to breathe again. To their relief, his chest started moving up and down, indicating he was breathing.


	2. Normal?

Mentor came out after tending to Antonio.

"Will he be alright?" Jayden asked.

"I'm sure he will be. He swallowed a lot of water though. He keeps saying that he's fine, but he's running a fever."

"Can we see him?" Jayden asked.

"Yes, you can," Ji answered. Mike, Kevin, Jayden, Mia, and Emily went into the recovery room. Antonio was lying in the bed, scowling down at his hands. The Rangers were surprised. They hardly saw anything besides the ever-present grin on Antonio's face.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked, although she had a pretty good idea what it was.

"I told Mentor that I was fine and he's making me stay in bed!"

"It's for your own good," Mia said.

"Mia's right," Kevin said. Mike and Jayden agreed.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to be fishing by tomorrow," Antonio replied. The Rangers shared knowing looks.

"Get some rest, we'll be back later," Emily said.

A few days later, Antonio was back to normal, or so everyone thought. The Rangers were training outside. Kevin and Mia were sparring, and Mike and Emily were also paired up. Jayden was showing a new move to Antonio; Antonio was a fast learner. He tried the move out and by the third try he had it down, so Jayden started sparring with him. Antonio was a bit slower than usual. Jayden seemed to know that Antonio wasn't back to his old self yet, and he took it easier on him.


	3. Hungry Much?

**Lunch**

Ji grilled hamburgers for lunch, since Antonio hadn't been fishing lately. Antonio had almost been tempted to sneak out, but before he could make it out the gate, Jayden saw him and made him go back inside, threatening to tell Mentor if it happened again.

They were all very hungry after training so hard earlier in the day. They all got their hamburgers and wolfed them down. Antonio wasn't hungry at all, but he ate his hamburger just the same. In fact, Antonio felt horrible. He had a terrible headache and was having some trouble breathing, but he didn't want the others to worry, so he acted like normal; or at least tried to. The Rangers didn't notice anything, except for Jayden and Ji. They shared a look when Antonio glanced down at his watch.

Later that day, Mentor had Antonio go buy some groceries. While he was gone, the others had a meeting. Everybody sat down, and Ji nodded for Jayden to begin. Mike spoke up first though.

"So why are we here without Antonio?" he asked.

Jayden replied, "Ji and I wanted to know if you guys have noticed Antonio's strange behavior lately." There was silence before Emily spoke up.

"I have," she said. "I didn't know if you guys had noticed it, so I didn't say anything."

"What did you notice, Emily?" Jayden asked.

"Well; I saw him training by himself yesterday. Usually, Antonio can work out for 20 to 30 minutes without a break. When I saw him the other day, he only trained about 5 or 10 minutes. He stopped and seemed really out of breath. He looked exhausted from only working out for that long."

"I noticed that he hasn't been very hungry lately," Mia said. "He hasn't been eating hardly anything."

"Is that all?" Jayden asked.

"Yeah," replied Mia. Mike, Kevin, and Emily agreed. Just at that moment, the GAP sensor went off. The Rangers headed toward the Nighlok while Mentor called Antonio.


	4. The First Secret

Trigox was specifically sent from Xandred to destroy the Gold Ranger, Antonio. Octoroo had been working on a way to destroy the Gold Ranger for months. Xandred and Octoroo knew that a lot of the Rangers' power came from the Gold Ranger. If he got rid of him, then he could destroy the Red Ranger and the rest of the Rangers.

Octoroo had found out that Antonio had asthma when he was younger. He had also found out that Antonio was allergic to pineapple. Octoroo planned to kidnap the Gold Ranger and blackmail him into helping the Nighlok. He was waiting until the right time. When he could find the Gold Ranger alone.

Antonio arrived just as the others arrived. They all morphed and started fighting. Trigox surrounded the Rangers with moogers, except for Antonio. He fought Antonio for a minute or two, when he finally saw a place to wrap his tentacles around Antonio. He grabbed him and lifted him up into the air. He took another tentacle, this one glowing purple, and wrapped it around Antonio. He focused all his energy to his tentacle, which turned into electricity. The tentacle glowed an even brighter purple. Antonio couldn't handle all the energy being focused on him, and de-morphed. As soon as his Ranger suit disappeared, Antonio screamed out in pain, and went limp in Trigox's tentacles.

Jayden and the others saw that Trigox had Antonio gripped in his tentacles. This encouraged them to fight even harder. Kevin finished off the last Nighlok and they went to help Antonio. They saw Antonio go limp in Trigox's tentacles, and they heard his scream of pain. Trigox dropped Antonio on the ground and faced the Rangers, ready to do battle.

It wasn't long before the Rangers had destroyed Trigox. They went over to Antonio and tried to bring him around. After a minute or so, Antonio moaned and slowly opened his eyes.

But before anyone could say anything, Trigox reappeared, this time in mega-mode. The Rangers told Antonio to stay there before morphing into mega-mode.


	5. A Safe Place

Antonio was still awake. He watched the others take on Trigox, and decided that he was going to help them, no matter what they told him. With difficulty, Antonio transformed into mega-mode and joined the others in the megazord.

Jayden was the first to say, "Antonio, we told you to stay there and wait."

"Sorry amigo. I couldn't just sit there and watch you fight." After a short time, the Rangers had defeated Trigox. As usual, they talked for a minute before de-morphing.

Antonio felt weak, even with his Ranger suit on. He was dizzy and he couldn't seem to stay awake. He couldn't control it. It just happened. Antonio demorphed and fell to the floor, unconscious.

Jayden and the others demorphed before rushing to Antonio's side. After trying to wake him with no response, Jayden, Mike, and Kevin carried him back to the Shiba house. Mia and Emily followed quietly behind.

When the Rangers arrived, Antonio still had not regained consciousness yet. Mentor checked him over and said that he didn't know what the problem was. So he couldn't help him. The Rangers knew that they had to do something, and quick, before Antonio got any worse.

"What are we going to do?" Emily asked.

"Yeah Jayden. How are we going to help Antonio if we don't know the problem?" Mike said.

"There's only one place that I know of that's safe enough to get help," Jayden said. The Rangers looked at him hopefully.

"Where is it?" Mia asked.

"The Tengen Gate." Mentor came through the door.

"Have you decided to go?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Here," Ji said. He handed Jayden a leather bound book.

"What's this for?" Jayden asked.

"Turn to page 33." Jayden did as he was told.

Mentor continued. "The symbol on the page will transport you to the Tengen Gate without using much symbol power."

"Thanks Ji."

Mentor glanced at Emily, and then said, "You need to get going. Antonio's worse."

The Rangers stepped outside. Mike and Kevin supported Antonio's limp form between them. Mia and Emily stood together behind them, with Jayden between them. Jayden took his Sammurizer out of his pocket and flipped it open. He started tracing a symbol into the air. As he drew, he called everyone's name out.

"Antonio. Mia. Emily. Mike. Kevin. Jayden. Shiba, transport!" There was a brilliant red light and the Rangers were gone.


	6. Is this the End?

The Rangers arrived at the Tengen Gate in a red flash. They went inside, with Mike and Kevin supporting Antonio. They explained what had happened to Daisuke. Antonio was checked over and put to bed. Now the Rangers were waiting for Daisuke to tell them what the problem was. Daisuke finally came out of Antonio's room.

Standing up, Jayden asked, "How is he?"

Daisuke dreaded to tell the Rangers the horrible news, but he knew Jayden would find out sooner or later, and he wouldn't let up until he did.

"Well...let me start with this. The Nighlok you fought earlier today, his name was Trigox?"

"Yeah," Mike said. "Or at least we're pretty sure it was."

"What about him?" Jayden asked, confused.

"I looked up this Nighlok. It seems that he does no harm to certain people."

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked.

"This Nighlok works for Master Xandred, but he really follows Octoroo. Octoroo planned to kill one of you, and then while you are occupied, he will attack the whole city at once."

"That Nighlok went after Antonio right from the beginning. He really ignored us until the moogers were gone," Kevin said.

"So Octoroo planned to take out Antonio," Emily said.

"But how is Antonio?" Jayden asked again.

Daisuke couldn't lie. "He doesn't have much time left, Rangers." Daisuke saw Jayden's eyes fill with horror. Emily started tearing up and Mia and Kevin comforted her. Mike was just the opposite. He was angry.

"What? What do you mean? He's dying?"

Daisuke replied, "Trigox had a purple glowing tentacle, did he not?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, he wrapped it around Antonio."

"Just as I thought," Daisuke replied. "Trigox is a Nighlok that radiates a special kind of energy. When he wrapped it around Antonio, it worked against his energy. His symbol power. It's making him weaker."

"So basically," Kevin said. "Antonio's symbol power is working against him? What are you saying? That Antonio's dying?"

Jayden spoke up, "There's no cure?"

Daisuke replied softly, "No, there isn't." Emily started crying harder. Mia hugged Emily. She whispered softly to her, telling her that everything would be alright.

"You can go see him," Daisuke said. "But don't stay too long. He'll probably want to sleep.

"Okay," Jayden said.


	7. A Little Talk

Jayden and the others went into Antonio's room, except for Emily. She didn't want Antonio to know that she had been crying. After a moment, she dried her tears and followed the others inside. She shut the door quietly behind her.

Antonio was awake, but he was pale, and he looked skinnier than he actually was.

"Hey guys," he said. Jayden could practically hear the pain in his voice.

"How do you feel?" Jayden asked.

"Golden." But Jayden knew better, and so did the others.

Emily decided to play along, and said, "That's good."

"Look guys," Antonio started. "I'm sorry. I let you all down. I tried to take on that Nighlok by myself, and I couldn't even last 5 minutes."

"That's nonsense," Jayden said.

Mike nodded slightly before saying, "Jayden's right, man. You taught yourself to be a Samurai. You made your own morpher."

Mia spoke up, "You're an awesome Samurai, Antonio. You fight really well. And you taught yourself, too!"

"Besides," Emily said. "You didn't try to take that Nighlok on by yourself. He cornered us so we couldn't fight him."

Kevin spoke for the first time since coming into the room. You could hear the worry and sadness in his voice. "I would say you probably lasted more than 5 minutes."

"Well, I still don't feel right, but I know how to make it up to you guys."

"How?" Jayden asked, perplexed.

"I'll tell you when the time is right," Antonio replied mysteriously.

"Okay..." Jayden replied. Daisuke stuck his head into the door.

"I think you better let him rest now, Rangers," he said. Antonio didn't say a thing, and to Jayden, that meant that Antonio was really miserable. They all left the room, telling Antonio to rest as much as possible. Daisuke followed them out the door.


	8. Missing

"Jayden, what do you think Antonio meant?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. Antonio's never been one for secrets. At least not like this."

Daisuke spoke. "Everyone can have a secret, Rangers." Jayden inwardly flinched, feeling guilty. Daisuke continued after a slight pause. "Even your closest friend can have one and not tell you what it is."

"Yeah but, what do you think Antonio's is? He's never hid anything from us," Mike said.

"We'll find out when he tells us," Kevin replied.

Jayden said, "Kevin's right. We shouldn't worry ourselves over it. Antonio said he would tell us when the time was right."

Little did the Rangers know, that they soon would have plenty to worry about.

Three days passed and Antonio got weaker. The first day, Antonio convinced Daisuke to let him out of bed. He wasn't allowed to train, so he watched the others spar.

However, the second day wasn't so kind to him. Antonio was exhausted, and he hadn't even been doing anything. He slept a lot, and he didn't eat hardly anything. Antonio wouldn't eat at all if Daisuke hadn't told him that he could always have Mia cook something, if he didn't want to eat anything else.  
The third day was the same.

But on the fourth day, something happened. Something that none of the Rangers were expecting.

Mia and Emily stood off to the side, while Jayden showed them a new move. Kevin and Mike were sparring. Surprisingly, Mike was winning this time. Or else Kevin was letting him beat him; but Kevin had never let up when sparring with anyone, even the girls, and especially not Mike or Jayden.  
Daisuke came running up to them. Mike and Kevin stopped and turned. Jayden did the same. Emily spoke up quickly.

"What's wrong, Daisuke?"

"It's Antonio! He's disappeared! I went to check on him and he wasn't there!" The Rangers didn't question him. They knew that Antonio was to weak to even get out of bed. That left one thing. Antonio had been taken against his will, and probably by a nighlok.

"It'll take forever to find him," Mike said.

"Not if we see where his sammurizer's signal is," Kevin answered. He looked at Jayden, who gave a short nod. Kevin took out his sammurizer and flipped it open with a flick of his wrist. He pressed a few buttons, and after a moment, he looked up and grinned. He showed the screen to Jayden. Jayden looked at it for a moment and then showed it to Daisuke.

"Do you know where this is?" he asked.

"Yes," Daisuke answered. "It's a cave at the edge of a forest. Go north until you reach a cliff. There's a forest on the other side. Cast the symbol for 'earth.' Emily will need to do it. Once the symbol is cast, there will be a bridge appear. It will seem to disappear when you reach the middle of it. I know how crazy this sounds, but when you reach that spot, just step off. There'll be a flash of light and you will appear in the cave. Antonio should be there."

"So we're just supposed to step off of a bridge?" Mike asked, shocked.

"Mike!" Mia said, afraid Daisuke would be offended. She pinched Mike's arm.

"Ow!"

"Thank you, Daisuke," Jayden said. "We'll leave right away."

Mike turned around and started walking before he heard Kevin say, "Hey Mike! That's south, not north." Mike's face turned red in embarrassment. He turned around and followed the others into a wooded area, this time in the right direction.


	9. Getting There

The Rangers had been walking through the woods for some time now. Branches and limbs slapped against their faces.  
Mike was getting impatient. It seemed that they had been walking forever. Weren't they there yet?

Emily kept tripping, and each time Mia or Mike was there to help her back up.  
Kevin was in front with Jayden, using their swords to cut vines and plants down so it was easier to walk. They had been clearing the path for the others for quite a while now. It was extremely humid and sweat was pouring down their faces and into their eyes. Jayden stopped for a moment to run the back of his hand across his face. Kevin paused and did the same.

"Hey Jayden," Kevin said. "Let's take a short break. Mike can switch with us for a little bit." Jayden was surprised, but he didn't blame Kevin. He was getting a little tired himself, not that he would admit it to anyone.

"Alright."

"Mike!" Kevin yelled.

"Dude, there's no need to yell. I'm right here," Mike said, stepping toward them. Mia and Emily stepped into view beside him.

"Would you mind taking over for a while?" Kevin asked.

"Sure. No problem."

"Thanks." Jayden and Kevin waved their hands and their swords disappeared. They both looked at Mike, expecting him to draw his sword and get to work clearing the path. But instead, Mike took out his sammurizer. He closed his eyes and flipped it open. He stood there for a moment, his forehead wrinkled in concentration. Then slowly, with his eyes still closed, he started drawing a symbol. As he finished, his eyes flew open and he tapped the symbol with his morpher. There was a flash of green light and a gust of wind, and there was a slight rumble. Then the plants and vines started moving, parting a path for the weary Rangers.

Kevin was surprised and a little exasperated. He knew Mike's element was the forest, but he could have done it earlier, at least.

"Mike, why didn't you do that earlier?"

"Well," Mike answered. "You never asked me to. Besides, I only thought of it just now. I hardly remembered the symbol."

"Come on guys," Mia said. Emil, Jayden, and her went ahead. Mike and Kevin followed.

A little while later, the Rangers made it out of the forest. They walked for a while longer until they came to the cliff. They all stopped and looked at Emily.

"What?" she asked. As soon as she said it, she remembered. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Emily took her sammurizer out of her jeans' pocket and quickly drew the symbol for 'earth.' An old rope bridge appeared. Just as Daisuke said, the bridge seemed to disappear in the middle. Jayden and Kevin went first. Then Mike, Mia, and Emily brought up the rear.

Jayden and the others carefully walked across the bridge to the middle. Jayden didn't say anything outloud, but he thought, "Well, here goes nothing." He turned and glanced at Kevin.

"Kevin, make sure Emily and Mia get through first," he said. "Then you and Mike come through."

"Okay, Jayden," Kevin replied. Jayden turned back around and looked down to the empty space in front of him. He knew he couldn't just stand their and think about it. Then he would talk himself into thinking that this wasn't such a good idea. He had to do it without thinking. He glanced at the others and took a deep breathe. He stepped off. There was a moment of silence and then a bright light was surrounding him. Then, as suddenly as it had came, it was gone. Jayden fell to the ground. He brushed himself off and looked up. Suddenly, Emily and Mia appeared. After a minute or two, Mike and Kevin appeared.

"Well," Jayden said. "We're here. Now we've got to find Antonio." As soon as Jayden said "Antonio," the ground rumbled. The Rangers turned around and saw a flame. It was growing bigger and bigger. A strange light filled the room. A door in the wall of the cave slid open, revealing the strangest sight the Rangers had ever seen...


	10. Surprises and New Places

The walls of the room in front of them were carved into a circle, not the normal square shape. All around the room, evenly spaced on the walls, there were glowing symbols.

There were six altogether. There was the Shiba symbol and the rest of the Rangers' family symbols. All of them were glowing in the Rangers' respective colors. But that wasn't all. Above each symbol, there was a different weapon. The Rangers knew what most of them were, but some they had no idea about.

Above Emily's symbol, there was an orange whip. The handle was engraved with symbols.

Above Mia's pink symbol, there was a pair of curved swords. The handles were a pretty purple, and engraved like Emily's.

The only other weapon that the Rangers knew was a pair of beautifully made daggers. The white handles had kanji etched into them like the orange whip and the curved swords. The daggers were above Kevin's symbol.

The weapons above Mike's, Antonio's, and Jayden's symbols were unknown to the Rangers. But the weapons weren't all. On the opposite wall, there was a wooden door. On either side, there were torches. They were lit, and they cast eerie shadows on the walls.

By now, the Rangers were stepping into the room, anxious to see it up closer. When all of them had went in, the stone door slid shut behind them with a soft grinding noise and a thud, but the Rangers didn't take much notice of it in their awestruck state.

And then, just the person they had been looking for, opened the door and walked through. He shut it behind him quietly.

"Pretty cool, isn't it, amigos?" Antonio said. Emily ran to him and gave him a hug.

"Antonio!" She exclaimed.

"Hey amiga," Antonio replied, grinning. "So, how do you like the decorations?" Jayden was blunt.

"What is this place, Antonio?"

"I'll tell you all what you want to know. But let's do it in there," he said, gesturing towards the wooden door. "It's quite a story. It's more comfortable in there."

Antonio turned walked towards the door with the others following.

He tugged on the handle and the door slowly creaked open. Antonio smiled and almost burst out laughing when he saw their faces. Mia and Emily's eyes were huge, and Mike's mouth was opened in shock. Even Kevin and Jayden were frozen.

**Sorry for the wait. Don't forget to review on your way out! I'll update as soon as possible.**


	11. Shocker

The room was huge. The ceiling was 20 feet high or more. In the center of the room, was a soft velvet couch. Facing it were two beautifully carved mahogany chairs. There was a low glass table between the two chairs.

There were many plants around the room. But they weren't from around there. They were very beautiful, and the Rangers could tell that they were exotic.

Since they were in a cave, the room had no windows. But the room was brightly lit. Most of the floor was wood tile, but the floor in the hallway was smooth stone.

Usually, caves were cold, wet, and clammy, but the the room was perfect thanks to the fireplace. There was a good-sized fire in it, and the logs were crackling softly. There were three doors on each side of the fireplace.

To the Rangers' right was a small waterfall. There was a hole high up in the wall and clear water was gushing out of it. It landed in a small pool below. The water had to go out somewhere, but the Rangers couldn't see where.

There was a hallway on their left, but they couldn't see where it led to because it curved around.

On the wall next to the door that they were standing next to, was a key-pad. There was a glass box around it, and no way to open it that they could see.

"You know you guys can go in. You don't have to stand in the doorway," Antonio said, chuckling. He closed the door when they had all filed in.

"Okay guys," he started. "I know you probably want to look around, but I need to tell you some things first."

"Alright," Jayden said. Towards the middle of the room, was a red velvet couch, and two mahogany chairs facing it. Mike, Emily, Mia, and Kevin sat on the couch, and Antonio and Jayden sat in the chairs. They all looked at Antonio, waiting for him to start.

"Okay. Well, let me start off by telling you the story of the Samurai Teams."

"Plural?" Kevin asked. Antonio nodded.

When the first Samurai teams were formed, there was two of them, not one. There was the original team like us, except for the gold, and there was the second team. The Rangers that made up that team were black, white, silver, orange, and purple. For a while, they fought side by side. Two teams fighting the Nighlok, ten Rangers in all. But one day after a battle with Octoroo, the second team disappeared. No one ever saw them again. Not even a glimpse. This place was their retreat."

"But what does this have to do with you, Antonio? No offense, but you weren't born into the Samurai family like us," Jayden said. "How could you know about this and not us?"

"You're right, Jayden. I wasn't born into the Samurai family. But I was Chosen."

"Chosen?" Mike asked. "Chosen for what? Okay, I'm really starting to get confused."

"You're not the only one, Mike," Mia said.

"It's true that I did make my morpher and became Gold Ranger. When I was looking for you guys, I found Sosa and this place. You see, she was the only ranger left from the second team. Her great-great-great grandmother was the original black ranger, leader of the team. When Sosa found out that I was the gold ranger, she taught me everything she knew. She didn't have any children, and she was dying. She needed someone to know about the second team. She gave me the power to morph into silver, black, white, orange, and purple Rangers. Right before she died, she made me promise to not tell you guys, unless I had no choice. In appears that I have no choice, now."

Emily teared up when she heard that.

"Don't say that!" Jayden said.

"Jayden, I heard what Daisuke told you guys. About me. I know I don't have much longer... Remember when I told you guys that I knew how to make up my mistake?"

"Yeah," Jayden replied.

"Well, this is it. If you guys will let me, I can give you the power to morph into a different ranger. You'll become more powerful and you can defeat Master Xandred easier."

Emily and Mia looked at each other, and said, "We're in."

Kevin said, "Me too. Like Antonio said, it'll give us more power and we can defeat Master Xandred. How about you, Mike?"

Mike didn't hesitate. "I'm in. It's up to you Jayden." They all looked at Jayden. He thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled.

"Let's do this."

"Okay," Antonio said. "We have to go back to the other room." They all got up and followed Antonio back to the circular room. They shut the door behind them. Antonio pressed a button on the wall, and a section of the floor slid away. Antonio motioned for them to follow him. He went over and sat down with his legs hanging over the side. The Rangers followed ended the same. Without a word, Antonio pushed yet another button in the floor. Then, with a slight jerk, the floor began to move downward. None of the Rangers said a word. Then suddenly, the lights were out, and they heard a squeak and a rumble. The lights flickered on and they were in another room. This one looked exactly like the other.

"Dude," Mike said. "We're in the same room."

"No we aren't," Antonio answered. "The other room is a replica. This is the real one."

"Oh," Mike said, feeling silly.

" I thought the same thing when Sosa brought me down here for the first time." That made Mike feel a little better.

"So what do we do?" Kevin asked.

"We have to do this one at a time. So, who wants to go first?" Antonio asked. The Rangers looked at each other. Jayden finally stepped up.

"I'll do it," he said.

"Alright, amigo! Now, before I do anything, and I know this sounds weird, I need you to stare at me for a second."

"Okay," came the reply. Jayden and Antonio locked gazes for a moment. Antonio finally look away, and Jayden took it he could look away too.

"Okay, Jay, I need you to go stand in front of your symbol." Jayden walked over to the glowing symbol and stood in front of it. Antonio took out his morpher and flipped it opened. He pressed a few buttons and then pointed the morpher towards Jayden. After a minute or so, Jayden and Antonio started to glow. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the glow was gone.

Kevin spoke up. "Are you sure it worked, Antonio?" Antonio nodded.

"Jayden, can you move so I can see the symbol behind you?" Jayden stepped away from the wall. There, underneath the red symbol, was another symbol. This one was black.

"Well Jayden," Antonio said. "It looks like you are our black ranger."

"Great!" Jayden replied.

Kevin stepped up next. "I'll go next, Antonio."

"Somehow, I'm not very surprised." Kevin, Mike, Mia, and Emily only found out what colors they were in the next 20 minutes. Kevin was white, Mike was silver, and Mia was purple. Emily was orange.

"Okay. Since we know everyone's colors, I'll tell you what your elements are," Antonio told them. "But let's go back upstairs." Antonio led them up some stairs and through a door. They were back in the room or Antonio had told them his story. They went back over to the couch and chairs, and sat down.

"Okay guys, I know this is overwhelming, but please try to focus. What I'm about to tell you now is really important. But first, I have to go get something. Wait here." Antonio way into another room and shut the door behind him. Mike started talking when the door closed.

"This is really weird guys. A second ranger team? And now we can morph into another ranger? I think I'm dreaming." Emily giggled and pinched him.

"Ow!"

"Well," she said. "We aren't dreaming." The Rangers didn't say anymore because the door opened, and out came Antonio. He was carrying a big box with a book balanced on top. He used his shoulder to close the door, and then made his way over to the others. He sat down and put the box between Jayden and him, on the glass table. Then, he opened the book and looked at it for a minute.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure I didn't get your elements wrong. Kevin, I'll start with you. Your new element is weather. You can control any kind of weather, but mostly snow and hail. It's closely related to water, so you shouldn't have much trouble mastering it. I didn't tell you guys this before, but you'll also have new zords. Kevin, yours will be the penguin-folding-zord." Antonio paused for a moment while he sat the book down. Then he sat the box in his lap and got a key out of his pocket. He opened the box and took out the penguin-zord. He handed it to Kevin.

"So we can form a whole new megazord with these?" Kevin asked.

** Don't forget to review on your way out! I'll update as soon as possible. The more reviews I get, the sooner I will update.**


	12. Life and Darkness

"Yep. But I'll tell you more about that in a minute. Mia, you're next. You're element is a little complicated. You have control over objects in outer space."

"Outer space?" Mia asked.

"Uh-huh. Like planets and stars and comets. Like I said, it's complicated. But once you morph for the first time, it'll come naturally to you. Your zord is the mockingjay-zord." Antonio grabbed the zord out of the box and handed it to Mia. Once the zord was in Mia's hands, the penguin-zord and mockingjay-zord unfolded and chirped at each other. The mockingjay-zord flew up to Mia's shoulder and perched there, while the penguin-zord kept waddling up Kevin's arm and sliding down again. They all laughed at the expression on Kevin's face.

"Okay, Emily," Antonio said, still chuckling. "Your element isn't really an element. It's like Mia's. Confusing. But once you morph, it'll be easy. You can control feelings and emotions; put thoughts into people's minds." Antonio could tell that Emily was a little disappointed.

"Hey, don't be disappointed. It doesn't sound like much, but once you're morphed, you can do something that the others can't. Its golden."

"What is it?" Emily asked, curious.

"If a Nighlok is invisible, wave your hand in a circle and you can tell where it is. You can also feel what others feel, but only when you're morphed."

"That's cool!" Emily replied. "What's my zord?"

"The owl-folding-zord."Antonio once again reached into the box and brought out another zord. He handed it to Emily. The owl-zord unfolded and chirped, or rather hooted, at Emily. Emily grinned. The owl-zord flew up and landed on her head. Emily giggled and the others burst out laughing. After the laughing ceased, Antonio finished telling Mike and Jayden what their elements were.

"I saved you two till last. Your elements are harder to control than the others' is. You have to have a lot of nerve, because if you don't do something right, it could be dangerous." Antonio quickly looked at the others. "I'm not taking anything away from you guys."

Kevin, Mia, and Emily nodded in understanding. Antonio turned back to Mike and Jayden.

"I'm gonna give you guys your zords first."

"Okay," Jayden answered. Antonio reached into the box again, and handed Mike his zord.

"It's the phoenix-folding-zord. If you combine the phoenix, mockingjay, and owl zords, you will get something like the Battlewing Megazord."

"Sweet," Mike replied. "What's my element?"

"Life. Once you master it, you can do about anything that has to do with life. Including restoring it."

"That's awesome! But not very useful in a fight."

"You're right. But there's some things I haven't told you about your weapons yet."

"So what's my zord and element?" Jayden asked.

"Your element is darkness." Antonio saw the look of horror cross Jayden's face.

"Don't worry, Jay. It sounds evil, but its really not. Just really powerful. You have to be careful with it. If you do the wrong thing..."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Okay? What's my zord?"

"Actually, you have two zords. The wolf-folding-zord and the snake-folding-zord."

"Well, I can't say I like snakes, but at least it's not a spider," Jayden said as he recieved the two zords. The snake-zord unfolded and started slithering around on Jayden's leg. Jayden made a face and said, "This will take a lot of getting used to." The others laughed. Then the wolf-zord unfolded and made a happy growling sound at the other zords. Then he looked around at the Rangers, as if to say, "Don't mind me," and layed down on Jayden's leg.

"Okay. So you've got your elements and zords. Time for weapons."


	13. Time for Weapons

"Follow me," Antonio said. He went through a door and down some steps. They arrived in the room where they had received their powers. Antonio flipped his morpher open and pressed a few buttons. All the weapons suddenly disappeared off the walls and onto a table that appeared in front of them. They all gathered around the table.

"The second Ranger team had weapons just like yours. So now that you can morph into another Ranger, you will have different weapons."

"Like what?" Kevin asked.

"Well, you won't have different spin swords, but you'll each get another disk. And, like your special weapons, you'll have another weapon that you'll have to master. So, here's your disks." Antonio pulled a drawer out of the desk and handed each Ranger a disk.

"So you've got your disks. Okay, Mia you're first." Antonio stepped forward and grabbed the pair of curved swords off of the table. He handed them to Mia.

"These are yours. They're pretty easy to master, though it'll take some time. It took me about a half a year before I mastered it. If you have trouble, just ask your zord. You guys too," he said, turning to the others. "All of your zords know how to use your weapons. If you have questions, ask them."

"Okay," Mia said.

"So. Kevin and Emily, you're next. Emily," he said, handing her the orange whip. "I think you know how to use this, but like I said, ask your zord for tips."

"Alright."

"Kevin, here's yours." Antonio reached to get the daggers and handed them to Kevin. "Okay, so once you throw them at a Nighlok, they come back right into your hands. I think you'll master it pretty quick." Kevin nodded, flipping the daggers over in his hands. Antonio looked at Mike and Jayden. He grabbed a pair of shiny black boots and a matching pair of gloves.

"Here Jayden."

"This doesn't look like a weapon."

"It is though. See, when you're morphed, you can draw a symbol and you'll change into these. The boots do lots of things; they can make you invisible, and they help you defy gravity."

"Defy gravity?"

"Yep. In other words, you can fly. It does more things, but I never got much time to try them out. On to the gloves. They're supercharged. Instead of hitting the Nighlok with your sword, you can hit them with your hands and feet and do just as much damage."

"Okay," Jayden said looking at them admiringly.

"Mike, your weapon," Antonio said, once again reaching for another weapon. "Is a set of shurikens. They're like Kevin's daggers. Once you throw them, they retract back to your hands. They can be pretty deadly." He handed them to Mike.

"Sweet, man."

"So Antonio, you've told us about our weapons, elements, and zords. What's next?"

"Well...how about a tour? You won't be staying, since I have to destroy it, but I can show you around."

"Why do you have to destroy it?" Mia asked.

"Well, I won't be here anymore. And you guys will want to go back to the Shiba House."

"Well, I guess you could show us around. But then we have to get back to the Tengen Gate," Jayden said.

"Okay." Antonio led them back into the larger room. He walked over to the fireplace.

"These are bedrooms," he said, gesturing toward the closed doors. "The Rangers used to sleep in here." Antonio moved on to the waterfall.

"I can't believe there's a real waterfall in here," Emily said in awe.

"Yeah, its pretty cool. Sosa told me that it was just a plain blank wall, but then the White Ranger got tired of looking at it. He used his symbol power and created this waterfall."

"That sounds like something Kevin would do," Mike said.

"Hey," Kevin shot back.

"So, what's this do?" asked Mike, who had walked over to the keypad.

"Oh! That's something that I like to mess around with. Let me demonstrate." Antonio walked over to the glass box and placed his hand on it. After a second, the box beeped and disappeared. The keypad was now accessible. Antonio punched a password in and the room was suddenly gone. Replacing it was a different room. This one wasn't like a cave. The ceiling was made of thick glass. Outside of it was the ocean, with fish of all different sorts swimming by. The rest of the room was the same, except for the floor. It was a pool. Stone walkways connected the hallway and the rooms to the middle of the room. There, the mahogany chairs, the velvet couch, and the glass table sat on a stone platform.

"Awesome!" Mike said.

"Amazing..." Emily said.

"There's hundreds of different rooms. I haven't even discovered them all, but this is my favorite," Antonio said. "So, on to the other rooms." Antonio led the Rangers to the hallway.

"This is where I did all of my training. It has different settings too, so I can change what it looks like." Antonio opened a door and the Rangers were met with an amazing sight. It was a medium sized training room. The walls were covered with shelves of weapons; bows and arrows, many different kinds of swords (makhairas, spathas, kopis, scimitars, shamshirs), kamas, spears, daggers, shurikens, whips, and many kinds of staffs. There were staffs made out of wood, metal, and there were several ornamental ones hanging on the wall. There was training mats on the floor, and ropes hanging down and stretched from two metal rings in the wall.

"I would love to train here," Jayden said.

Kevin looked over to him. "My thoughts exactly, Jayden."

Antonio looked over to them. "I enjoyed it, but it was hard work. Sosa worked me extremely hard, sometimes even harder than Jayden works sometimes. She wanted me to be all that I could be. I learned to work with all the weapons here."

"You did work hard," Jayden said, admiring the weapons.

"So, you saw the training area. Time for the rest." They all filed out and Antonio locked the door behind him.

One by one, Antonio showed them a game room, a tv room, a kitchen, a room with a motorcycle in it (supposedly it used to be Antonio's), a library, and two bathrooms. He was showing them the last room.

"So," Antonio was saying. "This is the last room. Its like an infirmary, only more high-tech. It has state-of-the-art equipment, and a built-in computer to tell you what to do if you don't know how." While Antonio was explaining, Mike was wandering around. He walked around the beds, to a computer with a button marked with a strange symbol on it.

"Hey Antonio, what's this do?" he asked, about to press it.

"Don't press that!" Antonio said.

"What?! Is it dangerous?" Mike said, backing up from it.

"No, sorry. It just turns on Tremor."

"Tremor?" Emily asked.

"Oh, that's the name of the computer. Her real name is D.E.M.A., but I call her Tremor."

"Why?" asked Mia.

"Well, let's just say Tremor and I didn't get along when I first arrived here. I accidentally turned her off, and I learned that Tremor doesn't like being turned off, even if its an accident, because she can't turn herself back on. When I turned her back on, she kind of shook up the place."

"Shook up the place?" Jayden echoed.

"Yeah. She got a little upset and shook up the room some. But then I upgraded her and she forgave me for turning her off. Then, when Sosa died, I didn't want to say goodbye, so I kind of just shut her off without saying anything. That's why I didn't want you to turn her back on. I'm afraid she'll never forgive me."

"Oh...okay," Mike said.

"Well, I hate for this to come to an end, but I've shown you everywhere. I guess we better head back to the Tengen Gate."

"Alright," Jayden answered. He turned around with the others behind him. Antonio started to follow when he suddenly felt lightheaded. Without even knowing it, he sank to his knees and moaned. When his knees touched the floor, a burning started to build up in his chest and throughout his whole body. Jayden whirled around to see Antonio sink all the way and collapse on the floor.


	14. Tears

"Antonio!" Jayden ran foward with the others on his heels and knelt by Antonio's side. He gently picked up his head and put it into his lap.

"Antonio what's the matter?" he asked frantically.

Antonio weakly said, "I thought it would last longer."

"What would last longer?" Kevin asked.

"I used a symbol to give me strength so I could last to give you guys your powers. It looks like its run out. I can't stop the effect of the Nighlok's poison. I'm sorry Jayden."

"For what?"

"That its come to this. I thought I'd be around long enough to see the end of Master Xandred."

Emily started crying, hard. "Antonio," she said through her tears. "You will. I promise."

"Emily," Antonio said, smiling sadly. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I tried, but it wasn't enough."

"But I don't understand," Kevin said. "You were fine 5 minutes ago. How could it change so fast?"

"Symbols are like that." Antonio started to turn even paler than he was, and his breathing started to sound labored. His eyes were a little duller than usual. Mia and Emily grabbed his left hand. Mike awkwardly put his hand on Antonio's shoulder. Kevin looked up and saw a lone tear run down Jayden's cheek. Kevin was shocked. Jayden never cried. Never.

Antonio tilted his head up and looked up at Jayden. He slowly reached up and used his thumb to wipe away the tear on Jayden's cheek.

"Jayden..."

"Yeah?"

"Defeat Master Xandred. You have the power and the heart. You all do. Go for it." And with that, Antonio's arm dropped and his eyes closed.

**Sorry for short chapter. I'll update again as soon as possible. Please review! Tell me what you think.**


	15. Have Faith in Silver

"No! Antonio!" Jayden cried out. He shook Antonio, but it did no good. He was gone. Emily sobbed and Mike went over and tried to comfort her, for all the good it would do. He rocked her back and forth, whispering into her ear. Kevin held Mia as she broke down. He even had tears in his eyes that threatened to spill over.

Jayden bowed his head over Antonio's still form. His shoulders shook as he let out all his anger and sadness. After a few minutes, he suddenly remembered something. Antonio had said that the power of the Silver Ranger could restore life. He slowly looked up.

"Mike," he said quietly. "Mike!"

"Yeah?"

"Antonio said that you have the power to restore life. You could try."

"I haven't even morphed yet, Jayden. I don't know the symbol to restore life, or even if you use a symbol."

"Couldn't Tremor help us?" Emily asked. Jayden looked at her and smiled.

"I'll go turn her on," Mike offered. He got up and walked over to the computer. He looked over it and then pushed the button. There was a series of beeps and then the large computer screen on the wall blinked on.

"Who are you?" a female voice asked suspiciously. "Did you turn me off?"

Jayden spoke. "We're Rangers. And no, we didn't turn you off. Antonio did, but that's not important. We need your help. We're friends of Antonio."

"Why? Wait a minute... You know Antonio? You say you're friends, but he's laying on the floor about dead. You have a lot of explaining to do before I do anything." Jayden sighed and started to explain."We're descendants of the original samurai team. We were fighting a Nighlok a few days ago. Antonio was with us."

Kevin started to explain the rest. "Yeah, the Nighlok poisoned Antonio and we went to the Tengen Gate for help. Then, Antonio disappeared. We tracked him to here. He told us his story, about the two ranger teams and about what happened to them."

"Yeah," Mike said. "He gave us new weapons, zords, everything. He was showing us around the place. We were finishing up here when he collapsed. He told us that he couldn't fight the Nighlok's poison anymore."

"Normally," Tremor said, "I wouldn't accept a story like that. But this time, I will, because Antonio needs help. But first, what are all your names?"

"This is Kevin, Mike, Mia, and Emily," Jayden said, pointing to each of them. "I'm Jayden."

"Okay. So, let's get to work. Lay him on the examining table." Jayden, Kevin, and Mike picked up Antonio and layed him on the metal table.

"I know none of you know how to do this, but I'll tell you how to hook everything up. Who wants to do it?" Tremor asked.

Jayden looked at the others. He knew that Emily and Mia couldn't do it or wouldn't want to, and Kevin probably wouldn't do it either. Mike he wasn't sure about. He knew that he himself couldn't do it, he would be afraid that he would do something wrong.

Before he could say anything, Mike said, "I guess I can do it."

Tremor answered, "Okay. See the shelf on the wall over there?"

"Yeah."

"Get the gold box on the second shelf."

When Mike went over and got the box, Tremor spoke again.

"Jayden, it would be better if you took the girls out."

"Alright." Kevin and Jayden escorted the girls out the door and shut it behind them. They went over to the middle of the room and sat down on the velvet cushions.

_"I hope this works,"_ Jayden thought.

Meanwhile, Tremor was telling Mike what to do with the things in the box. She had found out that he was the new Silver Ranger, so she talked to him about his responsibilities as the healer. She told him how to focus his symbol power to heal, although he wasn't exactly sure how yet.

Anyway, Mike had connected various machines to Antonio. The computer screen on the wall was filled with numbers and charts. It showed Antonio's blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. His breathing was so shallow that Tremor had Mike put an oxygen mask on Antonio's face. And his heart rate was so low that it was scaring Tremor.

"What do I do know?" Mike asked.

"Take his shirt off."

"What?"

"Take his shirt off."

"Okay. But I'm just letting you know, I'll be uncomfortable." Mike did as he was told and took off Antonio's shirt. He layed it aside.

"Take the stones out of the box."

"Stones? Okay." Mike reached into the golden box and took out three stones, two gold and one bronze. He looked back up at Tremor's screen.

"Now what?"

"Take the bronze stone and put it on his forehead. Then place the two gold ones in your palms." Mike gently placed the stone on Antonio's forehead and put the other two in his palms.

"Now all you have to do is focus your thoughts. Channel your energy and symbol power."

"I'll try." Mike closed his eyes and his forehead wrinkled in concentration. The room became quiet for a while. Then Mike let out a sigh.

"I can't do it. I don't know how. Antonio got the wrong person to be the Silver Ranger."

"Mike, you've got it all wrong. Antonio didn't choose you, the power did. You were meant to be the Silver Ranger." There was an awkward silence.

"I know!" Tremor said all of a sudden. "Morph! Then it'll come naturally to you."

"Okay. But what symbol do I draw?"

Tremor flicked a picture of a symbol on her screen.

"Draw this." Mike got his Sammurizer out and flipped it open. He began to draw the symbol on the wall. It took a moment, but when it was done, he tapped it with his morpher and said, "Silver Power! Ha!" In a few seconds, the morph was complete. There stood a silver samurai.

"Awesome! So much power!"

"Come on. More time to admire later. Get to work, Silver."

"Alright, alright." Mike placed the gold stones once again in his gloved palms. He closed his eyes and focused his energy. He started to have a tingly feeling in his hands. He looked down and the stones were glowing. A ray of light bounced off of each stone to another and a triangle formed. Mike wanted to keep looking, but he couldn't. He closed his eyes once again. There was a sudden rush of air and the light was gone. Mike opened his eyes and found that he had demorphed. The stones in his hands were gone, and so was the one that had been resting on Antonio's forehead.

Tremor was silent for a second, then said, "I think you did it."

"Sweet. But why isn't he waking up?"

"The toll taken on Antonio's body was unimaginable. If he had not had so much training, his heart would have stopped. He will probably sleep for a while." Just then, a light flashed on Tremor's screen. She switched back from the symbol to the heart monitor readings. There, as Mike looked at the monitor, it began to speed up. Then, suddenly, a long beep filled the air. Mike sucked in a breath. Antonio's heart had stopped! He sat down on a cot and put his head in his hands.

"I thought I did it. But I didn't. He's gone. It's my fault. It's my fault..."

Tremor said sadly, "I'm sorry, Mike. I really am. Antonio probably warned you about how dangerous it was, and here I was making you try to heal him when you hadn't even morphed for the first time. It's not your fault. It's mine." They sat in silence for maybe 5 minutes. Then Mike heard a knock on the door. He dreaded to tell them, but the others had to know.

He meekly said, "Come in." Jayden was the first to enter, with Kevin, Mia, and Emily following behind.

"Did it..." Jayden started, but then saw the look on Mike's face, one of defeat. His eyes widened. He looked at Antonio and then back to Mike. He slowly sank to the ground.

"No," he whispered. "It can't be. It can't be..." Kevin, Mia, and Emily stood there with looks on their faces that Mike couldn't decipher.

_All hands will join together, and be able to restore the lost._

Mike was shocked. Antonio in his head? It couldn't be...

_Together, you can do anything. Alone, you won't succeed at everything._

There he was again. Maybe he should listen to him...

"Guys, I think I know what we have to do," Mike said.

"What?" Kevin asked sadly.

"We need to join our hands together. Here, just follow my lead." Mike walked over and placed his hand over Antonio's forehead. Slowly, bewildered, Mia, Kevin, Emily, and Jayden made their way over to Mike and placed their hands on his. The room was mute. Then, with a sudden power surge, the Rangers were thrown across the room, except for Mike. He slowly removed his hand from Antonio's forehead. He looked up at the heart monitor. Antonio was back! His heart was pumping steadily and his breathing evened out. Jayden and the others looked at Mike and Antonio in amazement.

"I have no idea how I just did that, but it was awesome!" Mike said. The others grinned at each other. The real Mike was back, not the serious one that had taken his place.

Emily, Mia, Kevin, and Jayden got up and walked over to Mike and Antonio.

Jayden looked at the others and said, "I am so going to kill him when he wakes up. He needs to stop scaring us like that." The others laughed.

Everything had turned out alright, but what be be in store for them in the future?


End file.
